Family to hear details of how Jastine (24) was murdered

Family to hear details of how Jastine (24) was murdered

The family of murdered student Jastine Valdez will hear details of events leading up to her death at an inquest later this year.

Her parents Tess and Danny Valdez were present as a date for the hearing was scheduled at Dublin Coroner’s Court.

The 24-year-old student was abducted and murdered by Mark Hennessey as she walked to her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday, May 19, last year.

Hennessey (40) was shot in the arm and chest by a garda at Cherrywood Business Park the following day as a massive search to find Justine was under way.

Her remains were found on Monday, May 21, in dense woodland at Rathmichael, south Dublin.

Yesterday, Inspector Frank Keenaghan, of Bray garda station, applied to Deputy Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher for a date for hearing for the inquest.

A previous inquest hearing heard Ms Valdez died of asphyxia. She was abducted in broad daylight on a busy road close to Enniskerry. A witness who saw her being forced into the boot of a Nissan Qashqai rang 999.

Previously, the hearing heard that her mother and father travelled to the city morgue on May 22 to identify their daughter’s remains.

A post-mortem conducted by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan gave the cause of death as asphyxia.

Deputy Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher adjourned the inquest for a full hearing to take place on Monday, November 4, 2019.